


A Mercury Afternoon

by Zyphlid



Category: Destiny (Video Games)
Genre: Bittersweet, Character Death (hinted), I guess ?? I mean y'all know Saint's dead already...., M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-15
Updated: 2017-12-15
Packaged: 2019-02-14 22:50:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 950
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13017825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zyphlid/pseuds/Zyphlid
Summary: A Mercury afternoon was a mutual silence. It lasted seven minutes and seventeen seconds. It was 563 beats of his heart. It was 130 blinks of his eyes. It was 108 breaths. It was one clearing of his throat.





	A Mercury Afternoon

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Atheriss](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Atheriss/gifts).



What was a Mercury afternoon?

It was the 29th day. The 703rd hour. It was comfortably warm temperatures, with a breeze gently rolling the golden grass and sending pollen through the air. It was the muted sweet smell of red flowers and the whistle of purple trees. It was a bright blue sky and solar flares just within reach. 

It was Saint-14 facing the Traveler, backed turned to the Warlock with his hands folded behind him.

It was Osiris’s calculated steps across the field, muscle memory guiding him beside the Titan with exactly 25 inches between their bodies. He had Sagira measure it.

A Mercury afternoon was a mutual silence. It lasted seven minutes and seventeen seconds. It was 563 beats of his heart. It was 130 blinks of his eyes. It was 108 breaths. It was one clearing of his throat.

“I see you haven't changed.” The Defender’s voice was the same. Osiris felt the relief relax his shoulders. “Dare I say thankfully? Tell me, Osiris, what did I expect?”

The Exiled One pondered the question. He did not have to, however. He knew each word and the feeling as his mouth formed the syllables. He could repeat it in his sleep. He was told he had on a few occasions.

“Time passes incompatible with our own in the Forest,” Osiris explained. “Decades have been spent in thousands of possibilities with vast to miniscule differences between them.” There was an amused huff from the Warlock. “I once spent 37 days trying to figure out two very similar realities apart and the only change was that the building in focus had 25 steps in one and 24 in the other.” There was a beat. 3 seconds passed. “Stepping outside the gate and...it was apparent that only a few hours had gone by.”

Saint-14 nodded. He only understood here. He only knew the logic of the Vex because Osiris wanted him too. It made the conversation easier and less one sided. It made it easier to remember his voice.

“I expect with this knowledge, you thought I had plenty time to regret my actions,” the Exiled One continued. “To think over my so called rash and irresponsible decisions. Apologize, even, for what damage had occurred.”

The Titan laughed. He cherished every time it came to his laugh.

“I would not go so far as to consider the impossible.”

Osiris smirked.

“Then I see that you yourself have not changed.”

“I know you better.”

“Far better than anyone else.”

Saint looked over at the Warlock. A shame he could not remove the helmet. However, he knew behind the video feed there was a once familiar quirk in the plates above purple optics.

“Even Sagira?”

There was a flash of teeth beneath the mask still pulled over his nose. He stopped removing it the same time the Defender stopped taking off the helm.

“She has not been with me every moment that I have been with you,” Osiris stated matter-of-factly.

There was meant to be a pink hue in the throat of the Exo. A blushing lavender. He missed it dearly.

“Fair enough,” Saint said, almost squeaking.

There was another quiet moment. A Mercury afternoon had enough of them and he never cared to shorten them. He had all the time in the world to enjoy what company it pretended to give him. He used to make them longer, but his Ghost, over time, advised against it. He was too stubborn at first to see why, but eventually his heart gave him the hint.

Three minutes and twenty-one seconds passed.

“I cannot return to the City, Saint.” The tone of the Warlock was somber. “Not without you.”

The Titan nodded again.

“I know,” he replied. “That was my mission.”

“I wish I knew,” Osiris murmured. “I wish...I saw it. Like I see everything else.” Another beat. “I'm still trying to figure out why.”

That was a new one. The response, however, was still the same.

The Defender put his hand on the Exiled One’s shoulder. There was no warmth. Only pressure. He stopped feeling what he wanted when the grief was ready. It took 106 years.

“I’m just glad you're safe,” Saint-14 said. “I wouldn't know what I would do if I lost you.”

Osiris stared deeply into the purple sliver of the helmet. It used to be his optics. It used to bring him comfort yet remorse. It used to break his heart all the same as it did the first time he found him.

“I do,” Osiris said.

A Mercury afternoon came to an end. The image of Saint-14 flickered once, hand frozen in mid-air as the Warlock stepped away from it. The air became stale. The sun stopped keeping him warm. He shivered. The Vex liked it cold and kept it that way when the Forest permitted.

Given the simulation was his own, having fooled with the technology enough to get a rough enough understanding to produce one, he did not extend his efforts in fear of it being erased entirely. Parts of it were already. It was why he no longer saw Saint’s face. It was why he had to abandon the warmth of his touch. It is why he no longer even kissed his helmet where once it was his mouth. His left hand stopped longing to be held ages ago. It was why he allowed himself to forget all the conversations they used to hold for the next hour.

A Mercury afternoon was torn by a gate as he brought up the key. He learned not to look back as he stepped through and everything deconstructed behind him.

It was his 8,324th Mercury afternoon.

**Author's Note:**

> This was based off a sentence prompt given to me by my dear friend, Nereida! I wanted to cheer her up, so I wrote a thing between a pairing she got herself sucked into haha. I think it's super cute, but...obviously really sad lmao.............rip.........


End file.
